Three Types Of CEOs Sought By Life Sciences Executive Firms In China

The boom in the life sciences industry in China has created a huge demand for professionals with the appropriate skills and talent to take up leadership roles in this sector. A majority of such companies go through similar processes of transition from their conception to their commercialization. However, despite these similarities, when it comes to hiring top leaders during different phases, the needs and expectations of every single life sciences company are unique. This essentially means that these companies do not believe a single CEO to be capable of running the company from start to end. They believe that a top management professional, such as a CEO needs to evolve at the same rate at which the company is growing, which is almost impossible for a single individual. In this context, the life sciences executive search firms in China have identified the below discussed three most common types of CEO’s that organizations within this sector are constantly seeking.

The Entrepreneur CEO : These types of CEO’s are usually one of the founders or co-founders of the company and are thus been associated with the organization from its conception stage. They are generally professionals with a wide range of skills that are essential for executing the original vision for the company. They are looked upon as the innovators and the motivators who possess strong communication skills and have the capability to convey information about new products to investors, suppliers, distributors, and customers in an interesting and convincing manner. These CEO’s are believed to be most effective in the initial growth stages of a life sciences company.

The Scale-up CEO : The scale-up CEOs are considered to be the best successors of entrepreneur CEOs for taking the company through the next stage of evolution. According to professional recruitment consultants, these leaders should have a proven track record of an ability to improve business growth through a focused approach towards product development and quality control and enhancement. Next leader in the evolution of the company should be one with a proven history of taking products to new levels. That is why the retained executive search firm in China seeking such candidates for their clients, give greater priority to professional experience. They believe that only appropriately experienced candidates will be able to envision the manufacturing and marketing needs of the hiring company during the next growth phase. This information can prove extremely critical for careful execution of any growth plans with proper planning and delegation.

The Commercial (or M&A) CEO : The need for this type of CEO depends on the organization’s plan to either continue to operate independently or align itself with potential strategic buyers. It is essential for candidates being considered for this position by a retained executive search firm in China to have some experience in strategic marketing and preferably on a global scale. In order to gain success in this coveted position, these leadership candidates also need to possess exceptional communication and interpersonal skills. They should be capable of smartly analyzing the marketplace and build effective teams that can help fulfill organizational growth objectives established in accordance with market intelligence and changing customer trends.